Plato’s Apology: Defense of Socrates

Plato’s Apology is a reconstruction of the trial of Socrates. Socrates was accused of several wrong doings by a jury made up of the men considered to be wise and influential Athenians. During the trial, the court addressed issues such as Socrates’ views on death. Traditionally, death is view solely as a negative and the manifestation of evil. Socrates questioned this theory of death and dying. He proposed that death was, in turn, a good thing. Socrates figured that there were two outcomes of death. One outcome being that through dying one ceases to exist and no longer has any awareness of anything what so ever. In the second outcome, one’s soul experiences a sort of transformation and exchanges the present world for another. Neither of the two outcomes give the impression that they would be negative or evil encounters. Socrates’ peers strongly opposed this idea and any idea that didn’t comply with their traditions and society norms. Socrates passionately defended his beliefs through well articulated arguments that truly contradicted the norms of society.

Socrates stated that if there is no awareness in death then death would seem nothing more than a deep sleep with no dreams. During this sleep like state, the person would have no consciousness of anything at all. Socrates argued that a night of sleep spent without dreams are spent more soundly than those spent having dreams. Therefore, in death, person would feel as if they were simply experiences a restful night’s sleep. Also, this eternal sleep would seem to be no longer than a single night, thus nothing negative would be experienced by the deceased.

With the second possible outcome of death, the soul would undergo a transformation and if would feel as if one was taking a trip to another world. Upon entering this new world, Socrates felt that he would be able to meet those who are truly judges and be rid of the men in the current world who, falsely, consider themselves to be judges. Socrates was excited...

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

...November 21st
• Apology is a public speech; Crtio is a private speech
• Socrates
○ was the first philosopher concerned with human affairs (ethics, morality)
○ Socrates originally devoted his time to science
○ Later abandoned science and shifted attention to ethics-philosophy
○ Never wrote anything; so how do we know anything about him? Because of:
§ Plato
§ Xenophon
§ Aristophanes (Clouds)- accuser
○ Plato is the mouth piece of Socrates in most cases
§ But not verbatim; a lie in such that it cannot be verbatim
§ Idea that Plato is ventriloquist; allows us to just focus on the speech
• Apologia: Defence speech
• Socrates brought to trial
○ No judge, just officials
○ Jurors; chosen by lot (name out of a hat...kind of)
○ Jurors were citizens of Athens looking for the best interest of Athens
○ A trial of philosophers vs. non philosophers
○ OR trial of philosophers vs. city of Athens
○ Heard arguments from both sides; vote was taken (guilty or innocent)
• Charges against Socrates
○ Corrupting the youth
○ Not believing in the gods of the city(Athens) AKA the Impiety charge
• The accusers
○ Old accusers
§ More dangerous than the individuals who brought him up on the charges to begin with
§ Aristophanes
□ Depicting Socrates as the scientist he once was, says he teaches the weaker argument is...

...Socrates – “The Apology” or (Defense)
Socrates had no written work, never had a job and there are questions of whether he was even literate. However, Plato was a student of Socrates and recorded what occurred at his death trial.
Socrates asked lots of questions and made people with political power look stupid.
At no time during his trial does he claim to be innocent. He (attacks his accuser instead)
There were two types of charges brought against him.
- The new or (Official) Charges – which is why he was brought to trial
o “He corrupts the youth”
o “He disses the Old Gods and tosses props (credits) to New Gods.”
- Old Charges (Rumors/Not Official)
o “He makes the weaker argument defeat the stronger..” (As if Socrates was using witchcraft to win his arguments.”)
Possible Test Q – “What is the Old Charge and how does Socrates defend himself?”
Socrates has an old friend named Caraphon.
Caraphon thinks that no one is better than Socrates. To validate this he goes to see the Oracle at Delphi and asks “Is there anyone wiser than Socrates?”
The Gods say “No one is wiser than Socrates”
When Caraphon tells Socrates of the news. Socrates says “Crap! This cannot be the literal truth, but must instead be a riddle of some...

...Paper
In Plato's "Apology", Socrates is in trial for "corrupting the youth" and not believing in gods the city believe in. The book has three parts. In the first part, Socrates gives a long speech. This is Socratesdefense against his accusers. During this speech, Socrates says many examples of characters in Greek books. For example, he talks about "the clouds" which is a comedy play. Socrates also talks about Anaxagoras in the first part. In the second part, the court decides that Socrates is guilty. They say Socrates is convincing the young people to believe in things they shouldn't. In the third part, Socrates is sentence to death. Socrates says that death does not matter to him because he can see Homer and Odysseus possibly. He is also not mind sentence and make jokes at the end of the book. In the "Apology", I can see how three concepts we study in class relate to the "Apology". The three concepts are the tripartite framework of tradition (Eliot), a paradigm shift (Kuhn), and intertextuality. In the "Apology" I can also see how the foundational tradition of Greece establish by books such as the "Iliad", the "Odyssey", and "Oedipus the King" relate to the concepts we study in class and Plato's "Apology". In this essay...

...Plato'sApologySocrates was a very simple man who did not have many material possessions and spoke in a plain, conversational manner. Acknowledging his own ignorance, he engaged in conversations with people claiming to be experts, usually in ethical matters. By asking simple questions, Socrates gradually revealed that these people were in fact very confused and did not actually know anything about the matters about which they claimed to be an expert. Socrates felt that the quest for wisdom and the instruction of others through dialogue and inquiry were the highest aims in life. He felt that "The unexamined life is not worth living." Plato'sApology is the speech Socrates made at his trial. Socrates was charged with not recognizing the gods recognized by the state and corrupting the youth of Athens. In The Apology, Socrates attempted to defend himself. He spoke in a very simple, uncomplicated manner. He explained that he had no experience with the law and courts and that he would just use honesty and directness. He also explained that he behaved in the way that he did because of a prophecy by the oracle at Delphi, which claimed that he was the wisest of all men. Recognizing that he was ignorant in most things, Socrates concluded that he must be wiser than other men only in that he knew...

...Some of the best sources of information about Socrates' philosophical views are the early dialogues of his student Plato, who tried to provide a faithful picture of the methods and teachings of the great master. The Apology is one of the many-recorded dialogues about Socrates. It is about how Socrates was arrested and charged with corrupting the youth, believing in no god(s) (Atheism) and for being a Sophist. He attended his trial and put up a good argument. I believe that Socrates was wrongfully accused and should not have been sentenced to death. Within the duration of this document, I will be discussing the charges laid against Socrates and how he attempted to refute the charges.
<br>
<br>One of the reasons why Socrates was arrested was because he was being accused of corrupting the minds of the students he taught. I personally feel that it is almost impossible for one person to corrupt the thoughts and feelings of a whole group of people. Improvement comes form a minority and corruption comes from the majority. Socrates is one man (minority) therefore it is less likely the youth have been corrupted by Socrates than by some larger group of people (educators, council members, jurymen etc ).
<br>
<br>Socrates was also put on trial for being an Atheist. In the argument Socrates has with Meletus, Socrates...

...In Plato’s “Apology of Socrates,” Socrates is defending himself before the Athenian jury. In addition, you can consider the Phaedo (the very end), where you have an account of Socrates’ conduct at the very end of his life, in the moments before his execution. Further, in “The Allegory of the Cave,” in Plato’s The Republic, Socrates describes his views about the nature of Truth and knowledge.
In these texts, Socrates reveals a number of things about himself and his beliefs: how he makes a living; his beliefs; his sense of humor; his view of his duties; the nature of his courage (why a good man need not fear death); his manner of speaking; his relations to other Athenians (good and bad); his beliefs about the soul; how one ought to live one’s life; and his views on justice; the nature of Truth and knowledge--to give some examples.
Write an essay in which you describe the lifestyle, the character and thought (beliefs) of Socrates. Use “The Apology of Socrates,” as well as the Phaedo and “The Allegory of the Cave” as your primary sources.
As always, begin by carefully preparing a thesis. Consider the suggestion below to outline your essay.
I. Introduction
In your introductory paragraph, present a thesis that responds to the instruction above: Socrates’ character, his manner of life, and thought.
•...

...Kevin Langieri
February 1, 2013
Philosophy of Human Nature
Professor Gregor
Topic 1: Plato’sApology
This paper examines the significance of Socrates’ opening lines in Plato’sApology. Socrates’ opening lines establish the key points of his defense, which he explains in further detail as his dialogue continues. Socrates’ essentially makes four points with his opening two lines, which become relevant later on. To understand why these points are significant, it is important to make the charges that were brought upon Socrates clear, and then we can explore the significance of his opening lines.
Three of the major charges that were brought against Socrates include, questioning heaven and earth, teaching people to make a weaker argument appear stronger, and corrupting the youth. As we dive into the text, Socrates will explain that many people feel wronged or put down by him, and this is why these charges are brought against him. Socrates’ opening line, “I do not know, men of Athens, how my accusers affected you,” is significant for three reasons. First, he opens with an admission of ignorance. The jurors and people of the court believe that Socrates thinks he is the wisest of them all. By opening with this admission, he already starts to cast doubt in the minds of the jury...

...Defense on Socrates
There are times in every mans life where our actions and beliefs collidethese collisions are known as contradictions. There are endless instances in which we are so determined to make a point that we resort to using absurd overstatements, demeaning language, and false accusations in our arguments. This tendency to contradict ourselves often questions our character and morals. Similarly, in The Trial of Socrates (Plato'sApology), Meletus' fallacies in reason and his eventual mistake of contradicting himself will clear the accusations placed on Socrates. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates is not guilty of corrupting the youth with the idea of not believing in the Gods but of teaching the youth to think for themselves by looking to new divinities.
The first main argument in support of the thesis is that it is society's job to educate the youth and Socrates argues that it is impossible for just one man to corrupt the youth. This is the first mistake made by Meletus, as he makes the absurd overstatement that "every Athenian improves and elevates [the youth]; all with the exception of [Socrates]," who alone is their corrupter. Socrates goes on to defend himself by alluding to a horse analogy. Socrates argues that (P1) trainers improve horses, (P2) all others who simply ride horses, injure...